Dateline: Muriel and Teng Guan's home, Sydney, Saturday (March 24, 2012):
Good journalists are great storytellers. So you can imagine the wonderful and hilarious stories which flowed freely throughout the day as old Star journalistsgathered here for a reunion.
Journalists in those days were rascals. They would do a lot of crazy things. My favourite is this prank which Unny Krishnan would carry out whenever he is on night duty.
He would dial a number picked at random from the phone book. When the other side picks up the phone, he would ask: "Can I speak to John?" Of course, that person will say, "There is no John here."
Unny will keep calling his victim throughout the night, asking for John. Finally, at midnight, he will call again but this time, he will say: "This is John. Any messages for me?"
This was my contribution of old tales at this Sydney reunion. No, Unny Krishnan was not from the Star but from NST. I related that tale because I had heard it so many times as a rookie reporter when I followed our news editor Sugu for drinks almost every other night. That was how we learnt our trade in those days.
The better tales were related by master storytellers S.F. Yong and Teng Guan, both of whom were my bosses at the subs desk. Every story they told had a related story which was just as interesting, And some are so hilarious. You must join our next reunion to hear more.
And how about this one from John Santiago or more affectionately known as JJ (Juicy John)? This was during his days as a reporter with another newspaper before he joined The Star as a sub-editor.
He was among a group of reporters called in for a special announcement. They were locked in because the Government wanted to announce the death of Tun Abdul Razak and didn't want the news to leak out.
What the Government didn't realise was that all their colleagues back in their respective newsrooms already knew about this because the foreign wires had broken the news much earlier. Even then, when there was no Internet and social media, the Government was just as out of touch with reality.
So many fascinating stories. The problem with journalists is that we are good at recording other people's stories but not our own.
Why didn't one of us just bring a tape recorder for this reunion? Or just turn on the digital recorder in our smartphones? I guess we were just too busy talking and trying to catch up.
There was also the serious stuff. We talked about the legends of the industry. There is T.S. Khoo, the guru of sub-editors.
But ask the present sub editors about him and you will get a blank look and a response like T.S. who?
T.S. grew a few inches taller in my admiration of him after hearing how brilliant he was from SF and Guan at this reunion.
We in The Star then did not have a chance to work under T.S. but we had the next best thing. We saw his student, John Bois, in action. And yes, we were very impressed.
I remember Teh Eng Huat once telling me how he was instructed to seek out John Bois when he was transferred (or forced to move down) to KL from Penang.
"Do whatever he asks. Learn from him," Teh was told by his boss then, Gobind Rudra, a student of John Bois.
And now that news editors don't take out their rookie reporters to drink at night, many of these old newsmen's tales will soon be forgotten.
The idea for our reunion started when Teng Guan and Muriel dropped by in Hong Kong on Dec 21 last year. We had such a wonderful time at the Wednesday night racing hosted by Peng at the Happy Valley racecourse that we decided to hold a reunion in Sydney.
We tentatively fixed a date in March and our two Sydney friends agreed to be hosts. "You organise the people. Leave the food and drinks to us," said Guan.
Fixing the date and getting a place were crucial. Many of us were disappointed that an earlier attempt to hold a big Star reunion did not materialise.
We just want to make it happen this time even if it was only a few of us. Maybe the other reunion was just too ambitious. They could not agree on the dates and the place. Should it be in KL alone or is it better to have one in KL and the other in Penang?
JJ was the first to respond. He was willing to fly in from Auckland, New Zealand.
Ooi Kim Kee and John Chong, also said yes. Both were also subs in the Jalan Travers office before they went on to Singapore and later to Australia where they had become successful businessmen. They are also parents of two sons who sold their company to Groupon for an obscene amount of money (US$30 million).
We were supposed to sail in John's catamaran but it is still not back from repairs.
JJ and I (and I guess many of my fellow subs in those days) are grateful that Kim Kee was with us in the subs desk. We were terrified of our chief sub but he would be in his best behaviour whenever she was working.
Our reunion started a day earlier. Peng and I had agreed to meet for lunch on Friday, the day I arrived in Sydney.
After dropping off our bags, Guan took me, my wife and son Paul to the Sydney Fish Market in Pyrmont where we met Peng and JJ.
This is Peng's "must visit" place whenever he visits Sydney. it was a popular lunch venue when he and Teng Guan were working in the Straits Times remote subbing station here. And I can see why. The selection of seafood here is excellent.
The place was packed with tourists when we arrived. You guess it. Tourists from China.
It was a beautiful day. The sun was up and the sky was so blue. Makes me want to stay here and not go back to Hong Kong to finish my contract with scmp. Everywhere I go there is so much space. And more important, i am not crushed by huge crowds. Plus, no one is in a hurry.
We picked an outdoor table near the pier and did a "mat salleh" thing - bask in the warm sunshine.
Guan and Peng spoiled us. The four of us sat there and they brought us a nice spread of seafood. We haven't seen JJ for more than 20 years, so there was a lot of catching up to do. This was like a Star subs desk reunion. A Jalan Travers subs desk gathering to be exact.
The next day, Teng Guan brought me, my wife and son to his home. And what a beautiful home they have. Wonderfully renovated and clever use of space, plus it was tastefully decorated with Muriel's exotic collections.
There is also a magnificent view from his sitting room on the first floor. Over in the distance you can see blue waters lined with boats and yachts.
They have a nice garden in the back flanked on both sides by nice rock formations.
And while we were in the backyard, we saw this skywriting with the following words: Marry me, Jen? So romantic, these Aussies! I did not see the reply but was told that the subsequent message was: She said yes.
Up to the last minute we were not sure whether Low Eng Sim was coming. Eng Sim, formerly the Women's Editor in NST, was in charge of features and she took over from Muriel when she and Guan left for the Singapore Straits Times.
We were told that SF would only be coming in from Papua New Guinea only the next day, so it was a pleasant surprise when in strolled SF together with Peng, JJ and JJ's son Peter. Eng Sim joined us later.
In that gathering, there were a few people who were not in the old Star - my son, JJ's son and Guan's two neighbours. I am sure they must be bored with all our ramblings.
Of course, there was Madu, who was darling of dog lovers Peng and JJ.
Freddie Cheah was also there. Although he was never in The Star, he fitted in nicely because he was, well, he was an old journalist. The first time I met him was in Hong Kong and when I told him about our gathering in Sydney, he agreed straight away to join us.
As expected, Teng Guan brought out his new iPad and the photos captured on it were excellent. There and then I wanted to go out and buy one. Now you guys know where I picked up my love of gadgets.
We talked so much, right until dinner time in fact. We wanted to continue the discussions at a Malaysian restaurant (by the name of Chili, I think) but it is usually packed on Saturday nights. We were told we had to wait at least 2 hours, so we headed for Singapore Kitchen in Rye West. It was not our first choice but the food was good and we had great service from its owner Sam.
We all had a great time. I enjoyed myself so much that I am already planning for my next reunion. It will be in JJ's place in Auckland, New Zealand, in March next year. All are welcome.